Of all the players to put their hand up for a halves position at North Queensland following Johnathan Thurston's retirement, Paul Green probably didn't expect John Asiata to come knocking on his door.
The 183cm, 104kg Samoan international had spent most of his NRL career in the front row, or coming off the bench as a utility forward.
But Asiata, who played as a No.6 in his schoolboy days and had made two appearances in the position for the Cowboys in 2017, knew it was now or never to have a crack at the playmaking role.
"As a young kid you like to pretend you're a superstar, or trying to be like someone and back then I used to try and pretend I was JT," the 26-year-old said.
"To be able to do this at a high professional level, it's a dream of mine.
"To approach my coach, that was my first step.
"That was pretty hard to do, because I'm a forward and you can't just walk up to the coach and say 'hey coach, I wanna try myself in the halves'."
Green wasn't entirely convinced, but gave Asiata his chance in round eight against Gold Coast and he has held the spot since.
On Sunday he again faced the Titans, playing in the halves alongside Jake Clifford, with captain Michael Morgan on State of Origin duty for Queensland.
Asiata made 16 tackles and a number of crucial interventions as the Cowboys ground out a 6-4 win at Cbus Super Stadium.
"He's doing a pretty good job of that at the moment," Green said when asked if he needed to be convinced about Asiata's halves credentials.
"He's certainly helping us get our game on and our form's been good around him.
"He's willing to learn and really doing his best to do a good job of it and making a fist of it at the moment."
Asiata's attempt to cross the divide between the forward pack and backline has also been embraced by his teammates, with winger Kyle Feldt a big fan.
"He's got the skills of a five-eighth but the body of a front-rower," Feldt said.
"He's always been into Greenie about wanting to play in the halves and he's got his opportunity and I reckon he's taken it with both hands."
